Environmental Fund – Success Story!

In March 2017, the Old Whiteknights House Green team were the successful recipients of money from an environmental fund, set up to support staff and students to undertake green projects important to them. Their project looked to encourage staff and students to get involved with a small kitchen garden they proposed to plant in the grounds of their building. The benefits of this were two-fold, to engage people with a very tangible environmental project near to their place of study/work but also to increase well-being with gardening a proven way to improve people's level of happiness. Over the last month,…
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Policies, Strategies and Reports

The University’s Sustainability vision is to be: “…Embedding sustainability practices across the University’s operations to become a leader in global environmental sustainability.” Policies Environmental and Energy Policy 2023/24 Re-use Policy Fairtrade Policy Ethical Investment Policy Biodiversity Policy Sustainable Food Policy Procurement Policy IT Equipment Disposal Policy Emergency Lift Home Policy e-Scooter + e-Bike Policy Travel policy Certificates University of Reading Origin of Electricity 22-24 University of Reading Origin of Electricity 20-22 University of Reading Origin of Electricity 19-20 Renewable Energy Certificate for Domestic Sites 20-22 ISO 14001 2023 - 2026 Environmental Management Certificate - Whiteknights Campus (p1) ISO 50001 2023…
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Doing UoR Bit

Doing UoR Bit is our sustainable action platform which makes it easy and rewarding to do your bit, big or small, for the environment. The platform is available on both desktops and mobiles through an app. It highlights simple actions that you can complete that can reduce your carbon footprint, that are good for the environment and your own wellbeing.  New activities are added regularly, so there will always be something new to try. The platform shows you the positive impact of the actions you take - whether it be through carbon emissions avoided or how many bottles you've prevented…
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How did we achieve our 35% carbon reduction target?

We are delighted to announce that the University has cut its carbon emissions by 35%!!! This has produced a saving of £17 million over a five year period and means we have cut our annual carbon emissions from 44,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2008/09 to just over 28,500 tonnes per year now. The total carbon saved over the five year period is 63,000 tonnes, which equates to just over two years’ worth of the University’s current carbon emissions. This achievement puts the University among the top institutions in the country for reducing its carbon emissions. It demonstrates the University’s commitment to…
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Green Festival 2016 – A look back…

Last week the University celebrated all things sustainable with its first Green Festival. Running from Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 November there were a number of events including tours of the University’s state of the art energy centre, a careers event for students to explore environmental jobs and the ever popular Blackout event. We are delighted to say that many of the events were over-subscribed, demonstrating the passion and enthusiasm staff and students have at the University for green issues. During the week over 50 staff and students visited joined one of the Energy Centre or Carrington building tours and…
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University wins national Green Gown Award

The University is proud to have been announced as the winner in the 'Facilities and Services' category of the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) 2016 Green Gown Awards last week. The annual EAUC Green Gown Awards are a celebration of sustainability achievements across the higher education sector, and the University's energy efficiency improvements to its science labs was picked as the overall winner in the Facilities and Services category - http://www.greengownawards.org/2016-winners1 The judges saw Reading's entry as "...an exemplar model of engagement and collaboration with senior academic leaders which has led to a significant impact on energy savings and carbon…
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Interning with Sustainability Services

Over the summer, we hired two interns to help develop a platform to display our new and improved energy data. It is important for us to engage with staff & students, to inform them about their consumption as they are both primary users. As a result of 10 weeks of designing, editing and planning, we are proud to be launching our new sustainabilityoncampus.co.uk very soon. About the interns (name, course, career aspirations) Abi: 1st year student reading Geography (Human & Physical); hoping to work in the environmental sector or continue in further studies. Adam: recent graduate; Applied Statistics, wanting to become…
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Sustainability Matters – Year in Review

The latest edition of Sustainability Matters is now available to read by clicking here. In it are a few of the projects that have been completed this year including the success of staff across the University in the Green Impact programme, work to improve and optimise the heating in buildings as well as big carbon savings being extracted from fume cupboard improvements. If you have a story you would like featured in Sustainability Matters or would like some hard copies for distribution around your department please do drop us an email at sustainability@reading.ac.uk
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